1 Chronicles 16:35

16:35 Say this prayer:¹ “Deliver us, O God who delivers us!

Gather us! Rescue us from the nations!

Then we will give thanks² to your holy name,

and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.”³

Psalms 106:47

106:47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God!

Gather us from among the nations!

Then we will give thanks⁴ to your holy name,

and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.⁵

Psalms 147:2

147:2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,⁶

and gathers the exiles of Israel.

Isaiah 11:12

11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;

he will gather Israel’s dispersed people⁷

and assemble Judah’s scattered people

from the four corners of the earth.

Isaiah 56:8

56:8 The sovereign Lord says this,

the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel:

“I will still gather them up.”⁸

Jeremiah 12:15

12:15 But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent⁹ and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands¹⁰ and to their own country.

Jeremiah 31:10

31:10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations.

Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.

Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them.

He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”

Jeremiah 32:37

32:37 ‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I will have exiled¹¹ them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety.

Jeremiah 50:19-20

50:19 But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture.

They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan.

They will eat until they are full¹²

on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead.¹³

50:20 When that time comes,

no guilt will be found in Israel.

No sin will be found in Judah.¹⁴

For I will forgive those of them I have allowed to survive.¹⁵

I, the Lord, affirm it!’”¹⁶

Matthew 24:31

24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven¹⁷ to the other.

¹tn The words “this prayer” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

²tn Heb “to give thanks.” The infinitive construct indicates result after the imperative.

³tn Heb “to boast in your praise.”

⁴tn Heb “to give thanks.” The infinitive construct indicates result after the imperative.

⁵tn Heb “to boast in your praise.”

⁶map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁷tn Or “the banished of Israel,” i.e., the exiles.

⁸tn The meaning of the statement is unclear. The text reads literally, “Still I will gather upon him to his gathered ones.” Perhaps the preposition -לְ (lamed) before “gathered ones” introduces the object of the verb, as in Jer 49:5. The third masculine singular suffix on both עָלָיו (’alayv) and נִקְבָּצָיו (niqbatsayv) probably refers to “Israel.” In this case one can translate literally, “Still I will gather to him his gathered ones.”

⁹tn For the use of the verb “turn” (שׁוּב, shuv) in this sense, see BDB s.v. שׁוּב Qal.6.g and compare the usage in Pss 90:13; 6:4; Joel 2:14. It does not simply mean “again” as several of the English versions render it.

¹⁰sn The Lord is sovereign over the nations and has allotted each of them their lands. See Deut 2:5 (Edom), Deut 2:9 (Moab), Deut 2:19 (Ammon). He promised to restore not only his own people Israel to their land (Jer 32:37) but also Moab (Jer 48:47) and Ammon (Jer 49:6).

¹¹tn The verb here should be interpreted as a future perfect; though some of the people have already been exiled (in 605 and 597 b.c.), some have not yet been exiled at the time this prophesy is given (see study note on v. 1 for the date). However, contemporary English style does not regularly use the future perfect, choosing instead to use the simple future or the simple perfect as the present translation has done here.

¹²tn Heb “their soul [or hunger/appetite] will be satisfied.”

¹³sn The metaphor of Israel as a flock of sheep (v. 17) is continued here. The places named were all in Northern Israel and in the Transjordan, lands that were lost to the Assyrians in the period 738-722 b.c. All of these places were known for their fertility, for their woods and their pastures. The hills (hill country) of Ephraim formed the center of Northern Israel. Mount Carmel lies on the seacoast of the Mediterranean north and west of the hill country of Ephraim. Gilead formed the central part of Transjordan and was used to refer at times to the territory between the Yarmuk and Jabbok Rivers, at times to the territory between the Yarmuk and the Arnon Rivers, and at times for all of Israel in the Transjordan. Bashan refers to the territory north of Gilead.

¹⁴tn Heb “In those days and at that time, oracle of the Lord, the iniquity [or guilt] of Israel will be sought but there will be none and the sins of Judah but they will not be found.” The passive construction “will be sought” raises the question of who is doing the seeking which is not really the main point. The translation has avoided this question by simply referring to the result which is the main point.

¹⁵sn Compare Jer 31:34 and 33:8.

¹⁶tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.” In this case it is necessary to place this in the first person because this is already in a quote whose speaker is identified as the Lord (v. 18).

¹⁷tn Or “of the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.